Gladiator

 
Contents
 
page
Introduction iv
Chapter 1 Farmer and Soldier 
1
Chapter 2 The Last Battle 
5
Chapter 3 One More Duty 
11
Chapter 4 A Prisoner Again 
19
Chapter 5 New Gladiators 
27
Chapter 6 Caesar’s Arrival in Rome 
32
Chapter 7 The Spaniard and the Crowd 
37
Chapter 8 The Colosseum 
44
Chapter 9 A Man for the People 
51
Chapter 10 Secrets and Lies 
57
Chapter 11 Broken Plans 
62
Chapter 12 Home, At Last 
71
Activities 72

---

 
Introduction 
 
All eyes turned to the trees. A horseman rode out, toward the Roman 
army. There was something strange about the way he was riding 
Maximus was the first to understand . . 
. 
As the horse came closer, the other men could see what had happened. 
The Roman messenger was tied to his horse. His head had been cut off. 
Maximus knew now what he had to do. Life was suddenly simple.
General Maximus, Commander of the Roman Army of the
North, fights his last battle in the war against Germania. Then, he 
hopes to return to his farm and his family in Spain. 
But there are many serious problems in Rome and Emperor 
Marcus Aurelius knows he will soon die. Maximus realizes that
he must perform another duty for the Emperor before he can go
home. He knows it will not be easy, and he is right. Soon he is 
fighting for his life again, first as a prisoner, then a slave, and
finally as a gladiator. 
One thought keeps Maximus alive: that he will finally meet
and kill the man he hates most—the new Emperor, Commodus. 
The book, 
Gladiator, 
was written by Dewey Gram. The 
screenplay by David Franzoni, John Logan, and William 
Nicholson was made into a very successful movie. The movie
stars Russell Crowe as Maximus and Joaquin Phoenix as
Commodus. British actor Oliver Reed (Proximo) died before the 
movie was finished, although almost all his scenes had been 
completed. 
On film and on paper,
Gladiator
is a very exciting story. 
iv 

---